Maine Supreme Court Dismisses Appeal of Rollins Wind Power Project

In the first case of its kind to reach the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, a lawsuit challenging a permit issued by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection for the construction of the Rollins Wind Power Project was dismissed on all counts on March 11, 2010.

The order affirmed a decision by the Board of Environmental Protection to deny an appeal filed by the Friends of Lincoln Lakes (“FOLL”) and several individuals challenging the Rollins Project permit.  The Board of Environmental Protection had unanimously rejected the FOLL appeal on the basis that the DEP had found that the Project would not have an undue adverse impact on the environment, specifically with respect to sound, health and wildlife. 

The Court noted that “FOLL essentially conceded at oral argument that the Board’s findings were supported by substantial evidence in the record.”

The Law Court also found that FOLL’s right to equal protection was not infringed by wind development laws that prevent the BEP from assuming original jurisdiction over applications for expedited wind energy projects and that allow for direct appeal of Department and Board decisions to the Maine Supreme Court.

The ruling was a victory for First Wind, which is developing the 60-megawatt Rollins Project in Lincoln, Maine, and surrounding towns.  Verrill Dana attorneys Juliet Browne, Scott Anderson, and Gordon Smith represented First Wind in the appeal. 

A copy of the decision, Friends of Lincoln Lakes v. Board of Environmental Protection, 2010 ME 18, — A.2d —, may be found here.